Mark Warner (b. December 15, 1954, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Virginia. Warner was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and is currently serving his first term.[1]

Prior to his election in the Senate Warner served as Governor of Virginia from 2002-2006.[3]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Warner is a more moderate left of center Democratic Party vote. As a result, he may break with the Democratic Party line more than his fellow members.

Biography

Born in Indiana, Warner was raised in Connecticut. He received his bachelor's degree from George Washington University, and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He co-founded the cell phone company that went on to become Nextel.[4]

Career

The following is an abbreviated list of Warner's political and professional career:[5]

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[8] The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Warner's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[9]

National security

John Brennan CIA nomination

Warner voted for the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.[10]

Economy

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Warner voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.[11]

Government shutdown

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[12] The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Warner voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.[13]

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Warner voted against Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.[14]

Social Issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Warner voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.[15]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Warner voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.[16]

Controversy

Bieber deportation

On February 4, 2014, Warner said that he would sign a petition to deport Justin Bieber, a Canadian citizen.[17][18][19]

He sent a tweet that said, "It's true: I'm not a #Belieber. 'Senator Mark Warner offers to sign petition to deport Justin Bieber.'"[17]

Elections

2016

Warner made trips to Iowa and New Hampshire prior to the 2008 presidential election, but he decided against campaigning and withdrew, citing family concerns. He won re-election to his Senate seat in 2014.[20] There have been 16 senators elected to the presidency, including Barack Obama.[21]

2014

Warner ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Virginia. Warner sought the Democratic nomination in the primary. The general election took place November 4, 2014.[2]

A November 2013 poll suggested a difficult bid for re-election in 2014 for Warner. A Washington Free Beacon poll found that 50% of voters would re-elect Warner over another candidate, whereas 45% would prefer a new Senator. Among independents, Warner struggles with 49% saying they would rather elect a new Senator than keep Warner. Only 43% of Independents would like to keep Warner in office.[22]

Endorsements

Warner was endorsed by John Warner, the Republican senator Warner challenged in 1996. While John prevailed, Mark Warner ran again successfully for the Senate when John retired.[23]

2013

On November 20, 2012, Warner announced that he would not run for his former position as Governor of Virginia in 2013. Prior to this, Warner had been the prospective frontrunner for the 2013 Democratic nomination. His decision clears the way for confirmed candidate, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, to represent the party in the race against presumptive GOP nominee, attorney generalKen Cuccinelli, to succeed term-limited incumbent Gov. Bob McDonnell. Warner, who segued to the U.S. Senate when his term as governor ended in 2006, told the press, "I loved being governor, but I have a different job now - and it's here, in the United States Senate."[24][25]

2008

On November 4, 2008, Mark Warner won election to the United States Senate. He defeated James "Jim" S. Gilmore (R), William B. Redpath (L) and Glenda Gail Parker (G) in the general election.[26]

U.S. Senate, Virginia General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Mark Warner

72%

3,269,327

Republican

James "Jim" S. Gilmore

27%

1,228,830

Libertarian

William B. Redpath

0.4%

20,269

Green

Glenda Gail Parker

0.5%

21,690

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

3,178

Total Votes

4,543,294

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Warner is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Warner raised a total of $13,663,049 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 25, 2013.[27]

Mark Warner's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2008

U.S. Senate (Virginia)

$13,663,049

Grand Total Raised

$13,663,049

2014

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Warner's reports.[28]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Warner missed 44 of 1,276 roll call votes from January 2009 to March 2013. This amounts to 3.4%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of April 2013.[40]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Warner paid his congressional staff a total of $2,710,220 in 2011. He ranks 23rd on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranks 30th overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Virginia ranks 13th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[41]

Net worth

2012

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Warner's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $96,221,316 to $418,742,000. That averages to $257,481,658, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic Senate members in 2012 of $13,566,333.90. Warner ranked as the 1st most wealthy senator in 2012.[42]

Mark Warner Yearly Net Worth

Year

Avg. Net Worth

% Difference from previous year

2012

$257,481,658

12.87%

2011

$228,129,609

18.37%

2010

$192,730,605.50

N/A

Wealthiest members of Congress

According to a report by The Hill, Warner is one of the three wealthiest members of Congress. His minimum net worth was estimated at $88.5 million by the report. He is joined by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) on the list.[43]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Warner ranked 44th in the liberal rankings in 2012.[44]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Warner was 1 of 2 members of congress who ranked 37th in the liberal rankings.[45]

Voting with party

2013

Mark Warner voted with the Democratic Party 89.0% of the time, which ranked 43 among the 53 Senate Democratic members as of July 2013.[46]

Personal

Warner lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Lisa, and their three daughters.[4]

Awards

In 2004, Governing magazine named Warner and Senator John Chichester, chairman of the Virginia State Senate's Finance Committee as two of eight "Public Officials of the Year" for their collaboration in overhauling the state tax code.[47] Each year since 1994, Governing has selected a handful of state and local officials to honor for standout job performance. The Public Officials of the Year program "recognizes leaders from state, city and county government who exemplify the ideals of public service."[48]

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